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Topic: S26 Ep 5 "Persona Non Grata" (Read 5689 times)

IN A SURVIVOR FIRST, ONE CASTAWAY SUFFERS A HISTORY-MAKING MELTDOWN, on SURVIVOR: CARAMOAN  FANS VS. FAVORITES, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13

"Persona Non Grata"  The Favorites must contend with an out-of-control Brandon when he stuns his tribemates and reveals his hidden desire to sabotage their camp, leading up to a history-making meltdown, on SURVIVOR: CARAMOAN  FANS vs. FAVORITES, Wednesday, March 13 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

In a promo I just saw Jeff is with Brandon and has his hands on his shoulders and says "we are having tribal council right now."

My two theories:

The Obvious:The tribe is pissed at Brandon for trashing the camp, arrive at immunity challenge and announce that they are forfeiting in order to vote out Brandon. They go through with this and Brandon is voted out.

The Far-Fetched but somewhat makes sense:In order to forfeit immunity it must be a unanimous decision. I do not think Brandon wants to go as he has clearly stated that he will do whatever it takes to win. Phillip puts him up to this shenanigans, has him be all humble and agree to go get voted out. Phillip's alliance blindsides a strong player (Corinne maybe, or Malcolm (please no) or Brenda (please no)).

I honestly can't wait to see what goes down tonight because I could not believe my eyes when I saw previews last week!

I was watching just for TAR commercials, but when Brandon started to self-deteriorate, it jut made me want to watch what was going on in this episode. And this is by far one of the most ummm... ghetto? episodes ever?? The immunity challenge tribal council was the most unorthodox way of voting someone off, but yet kind of funny.

The end credit scene with Brandon's commentary and voting made me want to laugh.

MrDeerShank

I was watching just for TAR commercials, but when Brandon started to self-deteriorate, it jut made me want to watch what was going on in this episode. And this is by far one of the most ummm... ghetto? episodes ever?? The immunity challenge tribal council was the most unorthodox way of voting someone off, but yet kind of funny.

The end credit scene with Brandon's commentary and voting made me want to laugh.

(What was the immunity challenge anyway?)

By the looks of it, it was the puzzle staircase challenge already used in HvV and (my mind has drawn a blank but I want to say Tocantins)

Philip talks way too much and he thinks he's the best. I was like way to go man when Brandon brought up how Boston Rob dragged Phil's crazy butt all the way to the final and Philip did nothing to contribute to that alliance. I'll miss Brandon's crazy entertainment, but I'm happy for the Faves that they are in some peace now. And tribe switch next week? Hope that Eddie and Reynold stay together!

Has there ever been an "emergency" tribal council like that before? I know there have been a couple of times when a tribe conceded the immunity challenge, but the tribal council was held the way it normally is. What we saw tonight was to say the least, unusual.My guess is that Phillip has the target on his back now, especially with what was suggested in the preview for next week.

Who says you cannot see something new on Survivor! I thought Jeff handled it beautifully! He was rubbing Brandon's shoulders to calm him down but also he would have known if Brandon was going to take off and attack Phillip.

I really wish Brandon hadn't blown his mind and could think strategically instead of letting his rage take over. He was right about Phillip and his stupid names for them. He didn't need to dump the food out either. He could have had the high ground, maybe we would have seen an immediate TC and perhaps Phillip would have gotten the boot! However, I am hoping that this will lead to Phillips downfall as well.

Who says you cannot see something new on Survivor! I thought Jeff handled it beautifully! He was rubbing Brandon's shoulders to calm him down but also he would have known if Brandon was going to take off and attack Phillip.

I really wish Brandon hadn't blown his mind and could think strategically instead of letting his rage take over. He was right about Phillip and his stupid names for them. He didn't need to dump the food out either. He could have had the high ground, maybe we would have seen an immediate TC and perhaps Phillip would have gotten the boot! However, I am hoping that this will lead to Phillips downfall as well.

I agree with you TL! Brandon should have calmed down and used these tactics to take Phillip out, instead of rage-quitting. It would be a much better episode. But I have to say that Jeff did an awesome job soothing Brandon down and trying to control things before it blew out of proportion.

Logged

I have faith in what I seeNow I know I have met an angel in person and she looks perfectI don't deserve this, you look perfect tonight

Just rewatched the last 20 minutes of it. Besides dumping the food, I am very proud of what Brandon did. Philip does need to shut up about himself. He isn't the "hand that's trying to feed them". Love this quote (it was something like this): "Even though your 100 years old and haven't done anything wrong, own up to your mistakes you p****." Best part was the look on Reynold's face after that. Then at some point Philip says: "Well this is how you treat your elders, I saw the way you talk to Russell at the reunion show, and I can guess how you treat your aunt who's taking care of your kids right now" Then Brandon throws the hammer down, shakes lose of Jeff, points at the idiot and screams: "Don't f***** bring my kids into this or I'll run over there and knock your f***** head off!" What I noticed throughout this is that Philip looked depressed in a way, his face wasn't the bold Philip i'm such a warrior face, but more of just a solemn, depressed man receiving a rude awakening. I think he was starting to slightly realize just how full of himself he is. I'll say it again, I love that it was brought up that Rob dragged Philip through the game and mocked and made fun of him as it happened. if Philip was the real mastermind that he says he is now, Rob would've never made it to the end. On behalf of Brandon, Philip.....SHUT UP! Anyways I hope we have an all fans final 3, although I could accept having Malcolm or Brenda in the finals as well. Eddie and Reynold better stay together at the switch up though. And Sherri, shut up about how muscle doesn't win challenges. Put Laura in that reward challenge and take Eddie out and then see how you would have done huh. And maybe if you could get more than 2 or 3 coconuts in the net, you might have just won the challenge. She may not have been too good, but I guarantee you that Allie is stronger than Sherri and would have at least done better than her in that challenge! Hopefully the fans can get rid of the second person that has brought them down in challenges, which is obviously "the lovely Idaho mom" SHERRI!

It did feel like a matter of time. And that’s what makes this last episode of Survivor: Caramoan —and my reaction to it — so difficult and complicated. Anyone who watched Survivor: South Pacific would have come away with the impression that Brandon Hantz was a very troubled young man. From his obsession with getting rid of Mikayla for wearing revealing clothes, to his bizarre rants at Tribal Council, to his teary admissions of mistakes he had made in his life, Brandon came across as a guy in serious need of therapy to deal with his myriad of issues. And this was before all those issues had then been broadcast on national TV for all to see, which can just create more issues. Just imagine what that can do to one’s psyche?I was definitely concerned about Brandon being psychologically fit enough to play this game again when I heard he was coming back for Fans vs Favorites, and those concerns were only magnified when I spoke to him in a somewhat bizarre interview just days before filming began. I even asked Jeff Probst whether Brandon was emotionally stable enough to bring back, and he indicated that the show’s psychologists had cleared him. But all the warning signs were there.The last thing I want to do is sound all high and mighty — getting righteous about a show exploiting someone’s personal demons for the sake of ratings and drama. Lord knows I have enjoyed many a freak out on Big Brother — a show that goes out of its way to cast people likely to blow up at any second (like, say, Brandon’s other uncle, Willie, who was kicked off the show for head-butting another contestant last summer). I would be hypocritical if I did not acknowledge my voyeuristic side that has supported (and, at times, secretly wished for) such behavior.But this feels a bit different. And it feels different to me because we saw how much Brandon struggled in this environment already in his first outing. You can’t now use the excuse of “we didn’t know how he would react in such a situation,” because we already saw exactly how he reacted the last time. So that makes it hard to celebrate the drama created by yet another clear emotional meltdown by a guy already proven to have serious issues. Instead of exciting, it just comes off as kind of sad.At least that’s how I felt watching it. Sad that this guy went back on national television to have all of his demons exposed yet again. Sad for his tribemates that had to endure such a clearly uncomfortable living situation. Sad for myself and the audience, whose appetite for drama shares the blame for encouraging producers and networks to feed that appetite through casting which may border on dangerous or irresponsible. Just sad all around.I’m not trying to cast stones. And If I am, I am certainly casting one at myself as well. But that was my reaction upon watching Brandon’s multiple freak outs in the episode — fascination mixed with sorrow. We all knew there was a very good chance of something like this happening with him. You take someone already on shaky psychological ground and drop them in the worst conditions possible — wet, tired, hungry, and cut off from a support group of friends and family —well, what do you think is going to happen? Now that it has, how do we feel about it? How do you feel about it? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below. In the meantime, let’s go through the rest of the episode from the very top.

So, due to process of elimination, Reynold finds it, exclaiming “This is how you play Survivor!” which is certainly a more potent way to play it than, say, forming a four person alliance in a tribe of 10.

First episode in the season that I truly felt that the (evil) Corinne I loved in Gabon is back (yes, I feel her sassy and lovely attitude is bacccck! <33) (though ugh I feel this is going to end soon ugh ugh ugh)

I do not have words to describe this episode so I am not even going to try.

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

i remember the only reason i didn't like that is cause that meant Carter was going down at some point, and my track athlete bias forced me to like him. But Jeff Kent was one of the biggest jerks in the MLB when he was around, so i'm glad he got the boot early on in the merge.